An entry into next month's Volvo Round Ireland Race finished second in this weekend's Myth of Malham race and now tops the RORC points series just three weeks before the Irish offshore classic begins in Wicklow. Royal Irish sailor Michael Boyd will skipper the First 44.7, Lisa for the 700–mile Irish race and given this weekend's performance, the Beneteau yacht is very much up to speed.

Tenacity and dogged determination were to the fore for the class winners of the 230-mile Myth of Malham Race. With a light fickle northerly breeze, staying alert and making the best of the light conditions was the recipe for success. Yachts from Britain, France, Germany and Oman were the class winners.

Gilles Fournier's French J/133, Pintia was the overall winner of the Myth of Malham Race, after a tremendous battle with Suzi and Nick Jones' British First 44.7, Lisa. The two boats were literally side by side for the 230 mile race and after IRC time correction Pintia was the winner by just eight seconds after 38 hours of racing. Lisa was second but now leads the RORC Season's Points Championship. Past RORC Commodore Mike Greville racing his Ker 39, Erivale III was third overall.

Gilles Fournier was sailing back to their home port of Le Havre when he heard the news. “The whole crew are delighted but I must ring Nick Jones.” smiled Gilles. “When you are on the right side by eight seconds it is nice but I suppose Nick will be on the right side next time. They managed to stay ahead of us for sometime but we caught up and rounded Eddystone in front but then we ran out of wind and they passed us again. However, w never gave up, we kept up our motivation to the end because we knew that it would be very close. Like Nick and Suzi's Lisa, we are a family boat. Pintia sails with my daughter Corinne Migraine and my grandson Victor Migraine and my two nephews; Yan and Thomas Fournier. Also Daniel Devos who is one of the best Laser Masters in the world. We are all from the Société des Régates du Havre and it is the best sailing school in France.”

“We really pushed each other and that is probably why we both did so well.” commented Lisa's skipper, Nick Jones. “Keeping going in light airs for that length of time is far more difficult that racing in moderate or heavy weather and all the crew had to dig deep to stay alert. With just zephyrs of wind concentration levels need to be maintained. Suzi did a fantastic job trimming the Code Zero. Using the apparent wind to hop from one puff of breeze to the next was the trick and the team managed that very well. We are delighted to be leading the RORC Season's Points Championship and would like to thank the Pintia team for a fantastic race. Now home to look after our three children!”

The battle of the MOD70s in the Multihull Class was won by Musandam-Oman Sail, skippered by Sidney Gavignet. Tony Lawson's Concise 10, skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield, was just under 12 minutes behind after a cat and mouse chase lasting 21 hours. The Multihulls started after the rest of the fleet and although Musandam-Oman Sail were first over the line, Concise 10 did a better job of getting through the traffic to make the favoured main land shore in the crowded Solent. However, it was the Omani MOD70 that led out past The Needles into the English Channel, passing Concise 10 just after Lymington in a better wind line. Concise 10 came back, taking the lead on a hitch offshore after Swanage, but once again Sidney Gavignet's team came back, in fresher breeze building from behind, to round Eddystone Lighthouse ahead of their rival. Concise 10 narrowed the margin by staying offshore at Portland on the return leg, but Musandam-Oman Sail covered their competition from the front, to take line honours and the multihull class.

Musandam-Oman Sail's skipper Sidney Gavignet commented: "Light, very light! But great racing. We just managed to move away from Concise, a bit more than a mile, but that is nothing. From the start we have had a good battle, probably doing better gybes than our friends, which helped us to get out of the Solent. But then a transition zone came and messed with the cards and we got over taken…. Raghhhh! The team is sailing well, with no mistakes on the manoeuvres. It is good to be racing. Before the race, RORC Commodore, Michael Boyd, prepared a nice speech and gave it to Fahad Alhasni, to read in Arabic…Probably the first time that Arabic has been used in the RORC, it was great!"

Piet Vroon's Dutch Ker 51, Tonnerre 4 was the first boat home racing under IRC but a building breeze favoured their German rivals, Avenarius & Gondesen's Ker 46, Shakti was the winner of IRC Class Zero, after time correction. It was Shakti's second class win of the season and puts the team narrowly ahead of Tonnerre 4 for the class.

In IRC Two, Gilles Fournier's French J/133, Pintia scored a commanding victory, winning the class by nearly five hours after time correction. Two British J/122s enjoyed a terrific battle for second place. After racing for for two days and night, Andy Theobald's R&W crossed the finish line just two minutes ahead of David Richards' Jolly Jellyfish sailed by Gianluca Folloni. However, after time correction Jolly Jellyfish won the battle for second place. The Army Sailing Association's J/122, British Soldier finished a tenacious fifth to take the class lead for the season in IRC Two.

In IRC Three, Benoit D'halluin's A35, Dunkerque - Les Dunes de Flandre took both line honours and the win on IRC corrected time for the class. Second was Louis-Marie Dussere French JPK 10.10 Raging Bee with Nick Martin's British J/105 Diablo-J in third.

In IRC Four, Noel Racine's JPK 10.10, Foggy Dew took line honours for the class but the winner on IRC corrected time was Stuart Greenfield's Half Tonner Silver Shamrock. Hugo Tardivel's A31 Columbus Circle was third. Silver Shamrock was also the winner of the IRC Two-Handed Class. Louis-Marie Dussere French JPK 10.10 Raging Bee was second in IRC Two-Handed Class less than 13 minutes ahead of Nick Martin's British J/105 Diablo-J. Robert Nelson's J/105 Bigfoot was fourth, retaining the IRC Two-Handed class lead for the season.

Four Class40s entered the Myth of Malham Race. Christophe Coatnoan's Partouche took up the early running but Adriaan van Oord's Moonpalace was the eventual winner with Partouche second. Tony Lawson's Concise 2, with an all girls team sailed by Joy Fitzgerald was third and lead the RORC Season's Points Championship.

The RORC Season's Points Championship continues with the 125-mile Morgan Cup Race on Friday 10 June from Cowes to Dieppe and the Round Ireland Race a week later. For full results from the Myth of Malham Race: www.rorc.org

Two MOD70 trimarans that compete in next month's Round Ireland Race will be locking horns for the 250–mile race around the Eddystone Lighthouse this weekend as the the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season's Points Championship continues this UK Bank Holiday Weekend with the Myth of Malham Race. 

Tony Lawson's Concise 10, skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield, will be taking on Oman Sail's Musandam-Oman Sail, skippered by Frenchman, Sidney Gavignet. Two of the world's fastest offshore racing teams could finish the 250 nautical mile race in under 24 hours.

Musandam-Oman Sail left L'Orient on Wednesday 25th May to sail the MOD70 to the start, skipper Sidney Gavignet explains the importance of the Myth of Malham Race in the build up to their season.

“It is an English classic so we are looking forward to it and would love to win it. We will be up against Team Concise which is the main reason why we are doing it but it will be a challenge because they have done a lot of sailing over the last few months and I think they are favourites for this race. The Quebec-St. Malo is a big adventure, but we are sailing against Spindrift, which is much bigger and faster than us. For the Myth of Malham and the Round Ireland, we will be racing against other MOD70s. So we will have a real race against equal competition.”

Gavignet confirmed that there will be a total crew of six on board Musandam-Oman Sail for the Myth of Malham. Damian Foxall, Jean-Luc Nélias, Fahad Alhasni, Sami Al Shukaili and Yasir Al Rahbi. Five of the crew were on board for the record breaking 2014 Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race. Jean-Luc Nélias was navigator for Groupama for the 2012 Volvo Ocean Race win and for Team Mapfre in the 2015 Volvo Ocean Race.

Ned Collier Wakefield, skipper of Concise 10, is relishing the prospect of taking on Musandam-Oman Sail. The British MOD 70 will be returning to RORC racing after a spectacular duel with Phaedo3 in the RORC Transatlantic Race and the RORC Caribbean 600.

“Oman Sail has been the scratch boat for the MOD70s for a long time and it will be interesting to line up against them” commented Ned Collier Wakefield. “ We have huge respect for them, in what they have achieved. We found over the winter, the more we lined up against Phaedo, the more we learnt and the more we achieved. By the end of the winter, I think it was fair to say, the level between us was quite well balanced. So it will be interesting to see where that has got us to, when we take on Oman Sail.”

Ned Collier Wakefield confirmed a total of seven regular crew for Concise 10. Joining Collier Wakefield will be; Tom Dawson, Paul Larsen, Jonny Malbon, Jeff Mearing, Jackson Boutelle and race-rookie John Hamilton.

Over 50 yachts are expected on the start line this Saturday for the 250 mile race along the southwest coast of England. As with the start of the Rolex Fastnet, managing the tides along the headlands is an additional component to staying in favourable wind conditions. Weather forecast produce a complex picture for the weekend with a week low pressure system from the east disintegrating with a northeasterly gradient breeze developing along the course.

IMOCA 60, Artemis Ocean Racing, skippered by Mikey Ferguson, will be the scratch boat for the monohulls but as the British team found out in the last race Avenarius & Gondesen's German Ker 46, Shakti is capable of taking line honours and Piet Vroon's Ker 51, Tonnerre 4 is likely to pose an even greater threat. The flying Dutchman returns to RORC Racing after competing in the RORC Caribbean 600 and is defending their IRC Zero win in the Myth Malham from last year.

In IRC One, Nick Jones' First 44.7 leads the class for the championship and will be looking to score better than Robert Nelson's J/105 Bigfoot, which currently leads the RORC Season's Points Championship overall, as well as IRC Two Handed and IRC Four. RORC Vice Commodore, Steven Anderson will be racing his Corby 40, Cracklin' Rosie and hoping to win the class, having been runner up in the 2015 Myth of Malham.

In IRC Two, The Army Sailing Association's J/111 British Soldier and Sailing Logic's First 40 Rocket Dog II will both be competing this weekend and either team could take the class lead for the season with a good result in the Myth of Malham Race.

In IRC Three, two French Two-Handed teams have the opportunity of taking the lead in IRC Three ; Jean-Eudes Renier's JPK 10.80 Shaitan and Louis-Marie Dussere JPK 10.10 Raging Bee are both racing whilst Delamare & Mordret's JPK 10.80, Dream Pearls is not on the entry list. In IRC Four Noel Racine's JPK 10.10, Foggy Dew will be hoping to retain the class title for the Myth of Malham.

The RORC Myth of Malham Race will start from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line from 1000 BST (GMT+1) on Saturday 28th May.

The third and final day of the Vice Admiral's Cup organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club produced a dramatic finale in two classes. A light northerly breeze succumbed to a solid southwersterly air flow which built during the afternoon, as did the tension, especially in the 10-strong Fast40+ Class and the 12-strong Quarter Tonner Class. Race Officers, Stuart Childereley and Rob Lamb organised two races for their respective fleets, completing the eight race series for all six classes.

Fast40+ Class

Bill Coates' Texan Ker 43, Otra Vez was kicking himself after racing today, having been called back in both races for crossing the line too early. “I told you if you make a mistake, this fleet punishes you and they did, two 'over earlies' today meant we threw away the class win but this has been fantastic racing and we will be back for more.” Peter Morton's British Carkeek40 Girls On Film scored a win and a second place to snatch the title on the last race. Mike Bartholomew's South African GP42, Tokoloshe was third by less than a point.

“This event has been going since 2005 and it is great to see it is in good shape and in good hands.” commented Peter Morton, who was one of the founders of the event. “My congratulations to all of the winning teams and also to the Race Officers and their teams who did a fantastic job. The Fast40+ class is some of the best racing we have had in the Solent for years and we hope that it is going to get bigger and better.

HP30 Class

Thorkild Juncker's Danish, Open 7.50 Cool Runnings revelled in the conditions today to win both races by a healthy margin but Lloyd Thornburg's Farr 280, FOMO scored two second places to win the class by three points; Malcolm Wooton's Farr 30, Pegasus was third.

“That is the first time I have got in a machine like that since my college days” smiled Lloyd Thornburg. “It was great , very challenging but surprisingly fun and very powered up. She goes off the wind. This is something of a laugh and primarily to race in Cowes Week but I have to say we have done more starts this weekend then I have done with the MOD70 all year.”

SB20 Class

In the SB20 Class, Forelle Estates, helmed by Joe Llewellyn kept up their perfect score line with two more bullets to win the class with a perfect score. Charles Sheppard racing Sharc and McAdam & Whelan racing Here come Bod, had a tremendous battle for second place, which was won by Charlie Sheppard.

J/111 Class

The intense competition in the J/111 Class continued right until the last race with virtually every one of the eight race series being decided by seconds. Overnight leader Stuart Sawyer's Black Dog could only manage a sixth place in the last race but just hung on to win the class on countback from Cornel Riklin's Jitterbug. The young team on Martin Dent's JElvis scored a second place in the last race to come third in class, just a point ahead of Tony Mack's McFly.

“Fantastic, close racing, which is just what we need” smiled Stuart Sawyer. “This is a big year for the J/111 UK fleet, we have the J-Cup, The National and the World Championships to look forward to and the Vice Admiral's Cup has been a great event to start our season and we have done better than I expected.”

J/109 Class

Robert Stiles' Diamond Jem had another great day, posting two wins to win the class by a big margin. David Richards' Jumping Jellyfish was second and Simon Perry's Jiraffe finished the regatta in third place.

Quarter Tonner Class

Sam Laidlaw's Aguila retained their class win from last year. In a highly completive class, Aguila won the very last race to take the series by a half point. Aguila designed by Ralph Vrolick in 1990 was helmed by Sam Laidlaw; all of his crew, from the Isle of Wight, were not born when the boat was built. Louise Morton's Bullit had led the regatta from the first day and agonisingly lost the title by just half a point.

“Very tough close racing” summed up Sam Laidlaw. “ I felt that we were capable of beating them in both races but if it hadn't been for Magnum Evolution getting between us, we would have lost by half a point, so we were very fortunate in that respect. This fleet produces really close racing, which is also good fun and bodes well for the Quarter Ton Cup.”

RORC Commodore, Michael Boyd officiated at the Prize Giving at the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Cowes Clubhouse. He thanked all of the competitors for coming and showed appreciation for the RORC Race Team, especially the number of volunteers who give up their free time. Racing with the Royal Ocean Racing Club continues with the Myth of Malham offshore race, on Saturday 28 May.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Vice Admiral's Cup burst into action on the first day of racing. With 15-20 knots of wind and a building tide, the high performance fleet was launched on two tight windward leeward courses and a final round the buoys race to finish off a thrilling day on the water. With downwind boat speed nudging over 20 knots at times, staying on the plane and nailing gybes at full chat was the secret to high gains. Many of yesterday's 18–races between six different classes were won by seconds.

After three thrilling races in the ten-boat Farr40+ Class, Peter Morton's British Carkeek40, Girls on Film scored a 1-3-2 on the first day to lead by three points from Mike Bartholomew's South African GP42, Tokoloshe II. William Coates' Texan Ker 43, Otra Vez scored a 2-1-7 to finish the day in third place. The results of the Fast40+ Class are subject to protest.

“Winning the pin today and getting onto the bank was a favourable option but we decided that we would start a few boats in, so we wouldn't have to tack as long as we could hold our lane, and that worked out okay for us today. On top of getting out of the tide, there were left hand shifts coming off the island which worked well for us. We are quite strong downwind and managed to hold off some good competition in the first race from Otra Vez. Jubilee did a good job downwind in the second race and in the third race we managed to trawl a spinnaker, which set us back. About half the fleet made the podium today and there was a different winner in each race. In this fleet, you make a mistake, or fail to get off the line well, and you will be passed by three or four boats, that's how it should be and what this class is all about.” commented Peter Morton, Girls on Film.

Jamie Rankin's Farr 280 Pandemonium finished the day on top of the leader board for the HP30 Class with three podium finishes including a win in Race 2. Lloyd Thornburg's Farr 280, Fomo scored 4,2,1 to finish the first day in third place, an impressive performance, as the team from Lloyd's MOD 70 Phaedo3, only stepped into racing the boat today. Thorkild Juncker's Open 7.50 Cool Runnings was incredibly fast today, scoring a bullet and a third in the first two races but a broken halyard saw the dutch team fail to start the third race.

“Keeping the sails point at the sky, certainly helped our cause!” Laughed Pandemonium's Jamie Rankin. “The Farr 280 is very wet but super fast downwind and it was great to race with my sister Frankie. I know the colour scheme on the boat isn't exactly subtle but these boats are really enjoyable and today was the first time out in big breeze with a proper fleet. Ploughing through the waves, you really needed swimming goggles and some of the gybe on gybe action was hard work but just immense fun.”

In the SB20 Class, four teams shared the podium but there were three straight bullets for last year's Vice Admiral's Cup winner, Forelle Estates, helmed by Joe Llewellyn. Charles Sheppard's Sharc scored 2,2,3 to finish the day in second place and McAdam & Whelan's Here Comes Bod, finished the first day in third position. Doug Innes' A New Hope scored a third in the last race, securing fourth just a point ahead of Peter Noe's 6a Vision Homes.

Stuart Sawyer's J/111, Black Dog came out of the blocks with good pace, winning the the first two races and placing third in the last, the Cornish team lead the class but the racing was incredibly close. Cornel Riklin's Jitterbug scored three second places to finish the day just a point behind the leader and Tony Mack's McFly finished the day in third place. “We were happy with our speed today, especially downwind but we had a really bad rounding in the last race and let Jelvis get away and allowed Jitterbug to catch us up. In the end there was just 16 seconds between all three of us. The J/111 fleet can be quite aggressive and we have come to have a really competitive regatta and we are pleased with how we are going.”

In the J/109 Class, Robert Stiles' Diamond Jem had an outstanding day, posting two wins and a second, to lead the class by three points. David Richards' Jumping Jellyfish won the last race of the day to take second place in the class, just a point ahead of Chris Copeland's Juke Box.

Louise Morton's Quarter Tonner, Bullit placed third in the first race and went on to win the last two races to lead the Quarter Tonner Class ahead of Sam Laidlaw's Aguilla. Tony Hayward's Blackfun is third.

“We had a really good day today despite the tricky conditions with wind against tide and breaking our pole in the first race was not ideal.” commented Louise Morton. “We did have a couple of wipe-outs but we were not alone, Quarter Tonners can be a handful downwind. Well done to Stuart Childerley and his team for getting six classes off for three good races each, I am sure the race committee was as tired as us by the end of the day.”

Racing at the RORC Vice Admiral's Cup continues Saturday 21 May, with three more races scheduled for all six classes.

Pulsating action is anticipated this weekend for the 12 edition of the Vice Admiral's Cup, organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club. A full range of weather conditions is forecast for one of the best fleets of racing yachts seen at the event since its conception in 2005. With planing conditions forecast for the entire weekend, there will be a flurry of action on tight Solent courses. Two separate racing areas will be in operation with up to three races per day for the three-day regatta. Eight races are scheduled with the discard rule coming into play when six or more races have been completed.

Top of the bill will be the Fast 40+ Class and this year's event will also feature the first regatta for the HP 30 Class. The Quarter Tonner Class will join the Fast 40+ and HP 30 Class rated under IRC and there are three one-design classes, level rating; J/111, J/109 and SB20 Sportsboats.

Ten yachts are expected for the Fast 40+ Class, including RORC Easter Challenge winner, Texan Bill Coates with Ker 43, Otra Vez. Sir Keith Mills' British Ker 40+ Invictus and Peter Morton's Cowes-based Carkeek 40, Girls On Film, are both racing, and will be looking to take their first regatta victory of the season.

Six pocket rockets are expected to contest the first ever HP 30 Class, including Lloyd Thornburg's FOMO. The RORC Caribbean 600 multihull record holder will be joined by Brian Thompson, along with several MOD70 crew from Phaedo3. Thorkild Juncker's Open 7.50 Cool Runnings will also be racing with 'speed doctor' Jochem Visser as part of the crew.

The J/111 Class looks to be very competitive with proven winners right through the one design fleet. Stuart Sawyer's Cornishmen racing Black Dog are always a potent force and came second last year. 2014 European Champion, Cornel Riklin's Jitterbug will be racing, as will last year's Vice Admiral's Cup winner, Tony Mack's McFly. The J-Boat fleet at the regatta will be complimented by a fleet of J/109s level racing under their class rules.

In the SB20 Class, Joe Llewellyn's Forelle Estates is back to defend their emphatic win last year. 2011 UK SB20 Inland Champions Richard McAdam & Charlie Whelan will offer top competition. 12 Quarter Tonners will be racing including the top four teams from last year. Sam Laidlaw's Aguila will be defending last year's final race win and last year's runner up, Rickard Melander's Alice II, is back. Tony Hayward's Blackfun and Louise Morton's Bullit are both racing, and were third and fourth respectively last year.

The 2016 Royal Ocean Racing Club's De Guingand Bowl Race was held in the Solent and South Coast of England in highly changeable conditions. During the course of the race the wind direction swung to every point on the compass and the wind strength varied from zephyrs to 16 knots. Keeping your head out of the boat for the changes and pre-empting and correctly adapting to them was the key to success. RORC racing manager, Nick Elliott, chose a longer course of 123 nautical miles for the faster yachts and a shorter course of 105 nautical miles for the smaller and slower boats, with the overall result being decided on average speed.

Christoph Avenarius & Gorm Gondesen's German Ker 46, Shakti had a fantastic race, taking Line Honours, Class IRC Zero and the overall win for the best corrected time under IRC for the fleet. It is a great start to the season for Shakti. The key regatta for the German team is the RORC IRC National Championship in late June, where Shakti will be competing with about a dozen Fast 40+. Second overall and winner of IRC Three was Arnaud Delamare & Eric Mordret's JPK 10.80 Dream Pearls. Hugo Tardivel's A31 Columbus Circle was third overall and first in IRC 4. However the results in IRC 4 are subject to a pending protest.

In IRC 1, Nick Jones' British First 44.7 Lisa was the winner. Michel Peretie's French prototype Stamina was second with Seb & Michael Blair's King 40 Cobra third. Nick Jones' First 44.7, Lisa leads the class for the season and is second overall for the Season's Points Championship.

"It was an extremely tiring race, a great win and we had a bit of everything." commented Nick. "We did get becalmed a couple of times between The Solent and Owers Buoy, which was frustrating and there were lots of apparent losses and gains during the race; we all had our moments. The big race for Lisa this season is the Round Ireland and although Lisa's co-skipper, RORC Commodore, Michael Boyd was sailing his new boat for this race, we did have six of the crew on board and it was good to jell together. Lisa is a production boat and cannot point anywhere near as high as the race boats but you can manage that. For example in this race, we could see on the AIS that there were boats stuck with no wind under The Needles, so we put in a half mile tack offshore as we passed St.Catherine's Point, so that we could lay past The Needles. We would have been history if we had got stuck there and by having a better angle, we could also foot-off. Lisa is a heavy boat and in light airs, upwind, we tend to sail five to ten degrees off the wind to keep her going."

In IRC 2, Roderick Stuart & Bill Ram's Corby 37, Aurora was the winner. RORC Admiral, Andrew McIrvine racing First 40, La Réponse was second with the Army Sailing Association's J/111, British Soldier in third. Whilst in IRC 3, Arnaud Delamare & Eric Mordret's class win, racing JPK 10.80 Dream Pearls, was enough to put the French team into the class lead for the season. Thomas Kneen's JPK 10.80 Sunrise was second in IRC 3 for the race and James Chalmers' Weymouth team racing J/35 Bengal Tiger was third.

In IRC 4, RORC committee member, Stuart Greenfield racing Silver Shamrock was second to Hugo Tardivel's A31, Columbus Circle, with Noel Racine's JPK 10.10, Foggy Dew third. Robert Nelson's J/105, Bigfoot was fourth in IRC 4, which was enough to put the Two-handed team in first place overall for the RORC Season's Points Championship.

Stuart Greenfield found Silver Shamrock by chance on a trip to Falmouth Cornwall last year and bought the half tonner on the spot. "Silver Shamrock was built for Harold Cudmore by Killian Bushe in Cork and won the 1976 Half Ton Cup. Harold painted her in the colours of his credit card because that's how he paid the builder. After winning the cup the boat disappeared and I found her by luck in Falmouth and sailed her back to Cowes on my own. Silver Shamrock has been refitted and converted to asymmetric sails. My big race of the season is the SORC Round the Rock race this summer, a single handed race to the Fastnet Rock, so over the winter I refitted her to Category 2 standard and took eight coats of anti-fouling off her hull amongst other things."
It was a fantastic feeling to do so well in the De Guingand Bowl Race, when we were becalmed on the first night and the fleet just left us, we never gave up and just kept the boat moving. After coming around the Nab Tower, we must have put in 25 tacks to keep the boat moving. We stayed up all night and managed to get a zephyr and sailed the boat right in under Culver Down, which kept us going. As dawn was breaking, we went right in at St. Catherine's Point to take advantage of the tide, as it turned. We also got into good pressure and according to the tracker we went from a poor ranking position to second in class in those last few hours - never give up."

The Royal Ocean Club's Season's Points Championship continues on Saturday 28th May, over the May Bank Holiday with the Myth of Malham Race. The 256 nautical mile Cowes - Round Eddystone - Cowes course is weighted 1.2 for the championship and a highly competitive fleet is expected to be racing.

James Dadd, Director of the Rating Office in Lymington UK which is the technical hub of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, will be travelling to the other side of the world this month to meet with boat owners and race organisers in New Zealand, Australia and South East Asia and talk about the International IRC rating rule.

IRC is expanding with new territories in India and Taiwan, growth in Japan and China and very encouraging numbers for the start of the year from many Northern European countries but there appears to be an ongoing battle between rival handicap systems ORC and IRC for the hearts and minds of cruiser racer sailors around the world. 

For example, RORC reacted strongly to an article following an ORC presentation at the ICRA Conference in Limerick, in March. In a statement at the time, RORC Commodore Michael Boyd said in response to the Irish article he felt 'very strongly' that information put forward by Dobbs Davis, Chairman of ORC’s Promotion and Development Committee, 'needs correcting'. 

RORC says IRC Owners’ Forums will be hosted by Yachting New Zealand, Yachting Australia and IRC South-East Asia, giving sailors the chance to join in discussion and question/answer sessions about IRC racing.

James Dadd is looking forward to meeting owners as well as race organisers and measurers during his trip. “I’m keen to meet up again with those involved in IRC racing in the Antipodes and South East Asia which are both important regions to us,” says Dadd. “It will be good to have the opportunity to hear new ideas and address any questions people may have about IRC racing both locally and internationally.”

Next month's ICRA Nationals at Howth Yacht Club will feature what looks like the 'hottest cruiser fleet of the year' when class one boats resume battle after last year's epic clash at Kinsale. 

Paul O'Higgins new JPK 10.80 will be up against some good J109's (including John Maybury's Joker which won ICRAs in 2015, Jelly Baby from Cork, Storm from Howth and J/109 newcomer Tim Goodbody). Also in the class one mix will be the A35 Fools Gold which was second to Joker at Kinsale and also won the Scottish series 2015 overall. Former champion, the XP33 Bon Exemple, skippered by Philip Byrne of the Royal Irish, is also a contender.

The cruiser racer body says its decision to apply 'equal status and trophies to IRC and Progressive Echo has attracted support' and overall entries for the championships is now in the sixties. The event is timed to lead into the Round Ireland​,​ WIORA and Cork Week and Calves Week in a summer of​ ​racing highlights.

Although an early discount deadline has now passed, organisers have made the decision to extend it, presumably because they see there is still lots of potential entries to still emerge in each division.

Class two should be very competitive as well with four Half Tonners vying against the home club's X332 Equinox (Ross McDonald) plus a few others. Half tonners won't have their pro sailors however as ICRA rules only allow pros in classes 0 and 1.

Dux from HYC will compete in class three

Class three will see Fusion the Corby 25 of Colwell, Cobbe and Ronan pushed by likes of Anthony Gore Grimes in Dux, the Sigma 33 s and the ICRA Commodore's family boat from Foynes Yacht Club, the McGibney's Dis a Ray. 

The event is under the experienced Chairmanship of Chris Howard who has twice before run championships with ICRA at this County Dublin venue. 

The programme will provide seven races over three day from Friday 10th to Sun 12th June with a mix of windward/leeward courses and interesting round the cans courses.

ICRA will be presenting overall matching perpetual trophies for IRC and ECHO in each Division in addition to ISA Gold, Silver and Bronze medals smartly mounted which are unique to the National championships.

ICRA's Corinthian Cups are also competed for in both Progressive Echo and IRC will provide equally interesting courses, specifically designed for the non spinnaker divisions with overall trophies and glass mountings as prizes.

RORC's North Sea race from Harwich UK across the North Sea to Scheveningen Netherlands, was blessed with summer-like conditions. After a beat to South Galloper Buoy, the fleet turned north for a long starboard tack reach to Smith's Knoll Buoy, followed by a port tach reach to the Netherland's coast and a beat to finish at Scheveningen.

Volvo 70, Sanya Ocean Racing, sailed by Dutchman Harm Prins, took Line Honours in an elapsed time of 22 hours and 57 seconds but the high pressure produced a light airs race that suited the smaller yachts. The overall winner, after IRC time correction, was Sigma 33, Woozle Hunter, skippered by Ian Ivermee and crewed by members of the Marconi Sailing Club, Blackwater, Essex. Ian & Laura Ivermee raced with their 2015 Rolex Fastnet Crew.

“The conditions were just perfect for us” commented Ian Ivermee. “We are quick in the light and the tide and our handicap did the rest. It was all about keeping the crew concentrating and that was easily done, when I told them we were winning the race. We had a moment on Saturday night when the wind died and we knew most of the fleet had finished but we were not becalmed for long and got going again. It is a great win for us and now we have to keep up this standard for our ambitions to win the EAORA (East Anglian Offshore Racing Association) Offshore series.”

The North Sea Race featured ten teams racing Two-Handed and five of the short handed crews made the top ten overall.

In IRC 1, Astrid De Vin's Grand Soleil 43, Il Corvo, racing Two-handed, was the class winner. Also racing Two-Handed, Bart Desaunois' J/133, Batfish in second. Third in IRC 1 and racing fully crewed, First 44.7, Lisa co-skippered by Nick Jones and RORC Commodore, Michael Boyd.

In IRC 2, the top three yachts were all racing Two-Handed. Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker's J/122 Junique Raymarine Sailing Team was the winner. Robin Verhoef's J/122 Ajeto! Was second and Chris Schram's J/120 Maverick was third.

In IRC 3, Kees Mijs' J/109 Arethusa was the winner. Willem Schopman's Bashford 36 Intention was second, just ahead of Robert Jockin's Dehler 39, Griel.

In IRC 4, Woozle Hunter was the winner. In second place and winning a tough IRC Two-Handed Class was Yvonne Beusker & Eric Van Vuuren racing J/105, Panther. Third in IRC 4 and also racing Two-Handed was Erik Mayer-Martenson's Sunfast 3200, Blizzard Of Uz.

“My usual sailing partner for Team Panther is Edith Voskamp but she has had shoulder surgery, so Eric was my partner for the race. He is our team coach and we did some of the Global Ocean Race together in a Class40. Two-Handed racing has become very popular in the Netherlands and the North Sea Race is part of our National Championship. I believe our win was down to keeping each other sharp. It is difficult to stay alert in light winds but we made a big point of keeping each other focused, even after 30 hours with little sleep.”

The North Sea Race is one of seven weighted races for the RORC Season's Points Championship, carrying a points factor of 1.2.The championship continues with the De Guingand Bowl Race, which starts on Saturday 14th May from Cowes. The course will be around marks with a Solent finish, with a length of 120 - 150 miles. Full results for the North Sea Race are online at: www.rorc.org

It has been confirmed by the Irish Cruiser-Racing Association (ICRA) that it’s extremely unlikely that Ireland will be mounting a defence in July 2016 of the RORC Commodore’s Cup, which we so convincingly won in 2014 with the team of Catapult, Antix and Quokka 8. Apparently the defence has foundered on the difficulties of finding a person or group willing to take on the campaigning of a third boat which would be suitable to back up Anthony O’Leary’s 2014 Ker 40 Antix (ex-Catapult), and Michael Boyd’s new JPK 10.80. Michael Boyd and Anthony O’Leary had lined up a possible charter of Quokka 8 on a speculative (and expensive) retention fee in the hope that a team of optimal make-up could take shape, but no-one has proved willing to take up the costly full-charter option to make her the third boat. W M Nixon reflects on this unhappy follow-up to a good news story which helped lift Ireland out of the gloom of the recession in 2014.

The Commodore’s Cup 2016 as a Sail Training exercise? It’s one of the less crazy scenarios which is emerging from the conclusion that a realistic and highly-powered defence of Ireland’s 2014 win is simply not on the cards. The word is that the two front-line boats have been unable to find people with mega-resources and a crew willing to take up the third slot with Quokka, or possibly another boat altogether. Thus all bets are off.

To outsiders, it all sounds like a bit of the old hissy-fits, and more. Surely something could have been done? But those who have been in the midst of the Commodore’s Cup cauldron have some idea of both the stress involved (which is huge at the front of the fleet), and just how very much it is more important than ever to have a finely balanced team.

The big day – the Irish team park their tanks on the Royal Yacht Squadron lawn in Cowes after winning the Commodore’s Cup, July 2014

It all looked so easy once 2014’s win had been stitched up. But as the post-series review here on August 2nd 2014 revealed, the stresses and strains – particularly on Anthony O’Leary who did the heavy lifting in putting the team together and keeping the show on the road – were beyond most people’s imagining.

With hindsight now, it is easy to say that it was somewhere back towards Easter this year that the writing on the wall began to appear about how Ireland was going to have to opt out of the 2016 series. The new wave of Fast40+ boats on the Solent in the RORC Easter Challenge had been giving the already senior Antix a very hard time. If Anthony O’Leary and his crew were going to give of their best in campaigning their own boat in what is rapidly emerging as the hottest class in Europe, then they didn’t really need the distraction of rustling up a Commodore’s Cup team to add to their struggles.

For sure, back in 2014 the Commodore’s Cup was top billing. But the remorseless growth of the Fast 40s is making them the top show in town for 2016. They’d seven or eight of them in serious contention last year. At Easter, it was 10 and 11 boats, many of them barely out of the wrapping. In two weeks time, when they have their next major three day event on the Solent from May 20th to 22nd, we will be looking at a dozen and more boats so hot you could fry an egg on them.

Numbers like this, at this level of competition, inevitably attract the heavy hitters among owners and top professional sailors, providing a challenge which you either take head on, or opt out of altogether. For the amateur crew of Antix, it’s a case of take it or leave it. In taking it with full commitment to Fast40+ racing, they simply have to accept that they can’t overload themselves by the extra effort of running Commodore’s Cup involvement, though perhaps they could contemplate being in an Irish squad if by some miracle the perfect team package is put completely and exactly in place by some sort of offshore racing fairy godmother.

But you don’t get fairy godmothers in the rough tough world of offshore racing. The perfect dream package isn’t there, and it won’t be. So Antix and her crew of dedicated amateurs are going to be in the David and Goliath situation of throwing themselves totally into the fray of the Fast 40s, and we can only hope that the original David and Goliath scenario is replicated, for this is definitely the big boys’ game.

And yet, and yet……there’s no such thing as an inevitable outcome. Who knows what might emerge from the first proper gladiatorial confrontation of the Fast 40s in their newly confident expanded numbers? We may be saying this morning that an Irish defence is over and out. But surely it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that in the heady post-regatta atmosphere at the RORC’s Cowes base in a fortnight’s time, somebody might say: Why don’t we as a crew take a boat and join up with Antix and the new JPK 10.80 to race for Ireland?

The JPK 10.80 Courier du Leon wins the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race

Stranger things have happened in putting Commodore’s Cup teams together in the past. In 2014, so speculative was the buildup that Anthony O’Leary admitted afterwards that until the American Ker 40 Catapult was actually unloaded from a Transatlantic ship on European soil, he wasn’t a hundred per cent convinced she was going to appear at all.

Yet ironically, there was Catapult on the quay as hoped for, after various dockside and clubhouse meetings and negotiations in Key West way back in January. But the whereabouts of the team’s third boat Quokka 8, which had been chartered by Michael Boyd and Niall Dowling, was now a matter for concern.

She’d been campaigning in the Caribbean through the winter, but had been scheduled to be shipped back in plenty of time for the start of the new RORC offshore season. But the ship she was aboard was re-routed, then re-routed again. She arrived back this side of the Atlantic barely in time for the team’s first get-together at Volvo Cork Week in July 2014. But then it all became sweetest fantasy, as Quokka won Volvo Cork Week overall, following which the Irish team won the Commodore’s Cup going away.

Quokka 8, overall winner of Volvo Cork Week 2014

So who knows what might just somehow develop. But meanwhile the critics are sharpening their knives, and there’s much muttering about it being disgraceful that Ireland doesn’t look like defending a trophy we were so pleased to win just two short years ago.

Thus a suggestion is floating around that ICRA should be prepared to allow just about any old team to go and join the scrap for the Commodore’s Cup 2016. Why not, they suggest, just allow three J/109s to go along to represent the Ould Sod, and give their crews a real taste of sailing at the sharp end?

Certainly the Commodore’s Cup as a Sail Training event has a distinct Quixotic appeal. But underneath the whole story is the reality that while in places like the Solent the top end of high-profile sailing is invariably dominated by professionals, within and around Ireland we don’t really do professional competitive sailing at all.

We’re compulsive and obsessive amateurs, and that’s the way we like it. If our sailing isn’t fitted in to cherished little slivers of free time carved out of the day job, then we don’t really think it’s genuine sport at all. Thus while it’s fine and dandy every so often to take on the Solent heavies and maybe just occasionally show them the way, we’d just as soon save our limited holiday time for a proper tilt at the West Cork Regattas or events like the ICRA Nationals, where we’re racing against people we know, and not shelling out money for exorbitant Cowes rentals. Like it or not, that’s the way we are.

Meanwhile, it’s rumoured that the 2018 Commodore’s Cup will be based of teams of just two boats each. Now they tell us…….But that’s not teams. That’s multiple doubles matches.

A demanding animal to sail. The tiller-steered Ker 40 Antix is not for the faint-hearted

Read also: ICRA Statement on 2016 Irish Commodore's Cup team